Medical imaging is extending human vision into the nature of disease and tissue function, allowing a novel and more powerful generation of diagnosis and intervention. Deutsch, 85 Proceedings of the IEEE 1797-816 (1997). Optical methods have been explored to develop novel medical imaging applications in areas such as detection of disease, assessment of tissue function, and therapeutic interventions. For example, confocal and non-linear microscopy, optical coherence tomography, and diffuse optical tomography are biomedical optics technique capable of investigating biological tissues over depths in the order of ˜0.1 mm, ˜1 mm, and ˜1 cm, respectively.
In spite of this pivotal role, imaging techniques still present challenges, including the optical transmission limitations of natural tissue imposed by scattering and absorption that curb the image resolution and the depth of observation. Matcher et al., 36 Appl. Opt. 386-96 (1997); Zonios & Dimou, 17 Opt. Express 1256-67 (2009). The imaging techniques are also limited by the amount and type of information that can be relayed by the optical system. These problems often require resorting to methods for enhancing image quality through, for example, introducing exogenous contrast agents or radioactive markers that can be invasive or toxic or resorting to probes for imaging such as those afforded by endoscopy. There is a need to overcome these limitations and expand the utility of optical devices that ultimately affect an individual' s anamnesis. More specifically, there remains a need in the art of biomedical device field to develop biocompatible, biodegradable and/or bioresorbable photonic components and devices that need no retrieval after incorporation in the body, and at the same time, provide high-quality optical properties and sensitivities.